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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Vatican City, 11 July 2015 (VIS) –
The Holy Father's last day in Bolivia began with Holy Mass celebrated
in the chapel of the archbishop's residence in Santa Cruz de la
Sierra, and his offering to Our Lady of Copacabana, patron of
Bolivia, of the gifts given to him by President Evo Morales last
Wednesday during their meeting in the presidential palace.

“The President of the Nation, in a
gesture of warmth, was so kind as to offer me two decorative honours
on behalf of the Bolivian people. I thank the Bolivian people for
their affection and the president for this courteous gesture. I would
like to offer these two decorations to the patron saint of Bolivia,
the Mother of this noble nation, so that she may always remember her
people and from Bolivia, from the shrine where I would like them to
be, that she may remember the Successor of Peter and the whole Church
and care for them from Bolivia”.

He then recited the following prayer to
the Virgin Mary:

“Mother of the Saviour and Our
Mother, Queen of Bolivia, from the heights of your Shrine in
Copacabana, heed the prayers and needs of your children, especially
the poorest and most abandoned, and protect them. Receive as a gift
from the heart of Bolivia and as a token of my filial affection these
symbols of closeness and warmth that President Evo Morales Ayma has
bestowed on me with cordial and generous affection, on behalf of the
Bolivian people, on the occasion of this apostolic trip, which I
entrusted to your solicitous intercession.

“I pray that these honours, which I
leave here in Bolivia at your feet, and which recall the noble flight
of the condor in the skies of the Andes and the honoured sacrifice of
Fr. Luis Espinal, S.J., may be emblems of the everlasting love and
persistent gratitude of the Bolivian people for your solicitous and
intense tenderness.

At this moment, Mother, I place in your
heart my prayers for all the many petitions of your children, which I
have received in these days: I beg you to hear them; to give them
your encouragement and protection, and to show to the whole of
Bolivia your tenderness as a woman and as Mother of God, who lives
and reigns for ever and ever. Amen”.

Vatican City, 11 July 2015 (VIS) –
After celebrating Mass in the chapel of the archbishop's residence,
the Pope visited the Santa Cruz-Palmasola penitentiary where he met
with various groups of inmates – men, women and young people
imprisoned for both petty and serious offences. The men's Pavilion
PS4, where the meeting with the Pope took place, is open for daily
visits and hosts around 2,800 detainees, whose family members (around
1,500 per day) are able to live with them in a sort of village
protected and managed by the inmates themselves through a “General
Regency” led by State security staff.

The Pope was received by the director
of the penitentiary, the chaplain and Msgr. Jesus Juarez, head of
prison pastoral ministry of the Episcopal Conference of Bolivia.
After hearing testimonies from some of the detainees, he addressed
those present.

!I could not leave Bolivia without
seeing you, without sharing that faith and hope which are the fruit
of the love revealed on the cross of Christ”, he said. “Thank you
for welcoming me; I know that you have prepared yourselves for this
moment and that you have been praying for me. I am deeply grateful
for this”.

He continued, “You may be asking
yourselves: 'Who is this man standing before us?'. I would like to
reply to that question with something absolutely certain about my own
life. The man standing before you is a man who has experienced
forgiveness. A man who was, and is, saved from his many sins. That is
who I am. I don’t have much more to give you or to offer you, but I
want to share with you what I do have and what I love. It is Jesus
Christ, the mercy of the Father.

“Jesus came to show the love which
God has for us. For you and for me. It is a love which is powerful
and real. It is a love which takes seriously the plight of those he
loves. It is a love which heals, forgives, raises up and shows
concern. It is a love which draws near and restores dignity. We can
lose this dignity in so many ways. But Jesus is stubborn: he gave his
very life to restore the identity we had lost.

“Here is something which can help us
to understand this. Peter and Paul, disciples of Jesus, were
prisoners too. They too lost their freedom. But there was something
that sustained them, something that did not let them yield to
despair, that experience of darkness and meaninglessness. That
something was prayer, both individually and with others. They prayed,
and they prayed for one another. These two forms of prayer became a
network to maintain life and hope. And that network keeps us from
yielding to despair. It encourages us to keep moving forward. It is a
network which supports life, your own lives and those of your
families.

“When Jesus becomes part of our
lives, we can no longer remain imprisoned by our past. Instead, we
begin look to the present, and we see it differently, with a
different kind of hope. We begin to see ourselves and our lives in a
different light. We are no longer stuck in the past, but capable of
shedding tears and finding in them the strength to make a new start.
If there are times when you experience sadness, depression, negative
feelings, I would ask you to look at Christ crucified. Look at his
face. He sees us; in his eyes there is a place for us. We can all
bring to Christ our wounds, our pain, our sins. In his wounds, there
is a place for our own wounds. There they can be soothed, washed
clean, changed and healed. He died for us, for me, so that he could
stretch out us his hand and lift us up. Talk to the priests who come
here, talk to them! Jesus wants to help you get up, always.

“This certainty makes us work hard to
preserve our dignity. Being imprisoned, 'shut in', is not the same
thing as being 'shut out'. Detention is part of a process of
reintegration into society. I know that there are many things here
that make it hard: overcrowding, justice delayed, a lack of training
opportunities and rehabilitation policies, violence. All these things
point to the need for a speedy and efficient cooperation between
institutions in order to come up with solutions. And yet, while
working for this, we should not think that everything is lost. There
are things that we can do even today.

“Here, in this rehabilitation centre,
the way you live together depends to some extent on yourselves.
Suffering and deprivation can make us selfish of heart and lead to
confrontation, but we also have the capacity to make these things an
opportunity for genuine fraternity. Help one another. Do not be
afraid to help one another. The devil is looking for rivalry,
division, gangs. Keep working to make progress.

“I would ask you to take my greetings
to your families. Their presence and support are so important!
Grandparents, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, couples, children:
all of them remind us that life is worth living and that we should
keep fighting for a better world. Finally, I offer a word of
encouragement to all who work at this centre: to the administrators,
the police officials and all the personnel. They carry out a vital
public service. They have an important responsibility for
facilitating the process of reintegration. It is their
responsibility to raise up, not to put down, to restore dignity and
not to humiliate; to encourage and not to inflict hardship. This
means putting aside a mentality which sees people as 'good' or 'bad',
but instead tries to focus on helping others. This will help to
create better conditions for everyone. It will give dignity, provide
motivation, and make us all better people.

“Before giving each of you my
blessing, I would like for us to pray for a few moments in silence.
Each of you, in whatever way you can. I ask you, please, to keep
praying for me, because I too have my mistakes and I too must do
penance. Thank you”.

Vatican City, 11 July 2015 (VIS) –
After his visit to Palmasola, Pope Francis proceeded to the parish
church of La Santa Cruz, where he met with Bolivian bishops (37,
including bishops emeritus) for an informal meeting lasting around an
hour. He then transferred by car, greeted and applauded by thousands
of people, to Viru Viru airport where he left for Paraguay. He
arrived in the capital Asuncion two hours later, at 3 p.m. local
time.

In the airport he was received by the
president of Paraguay Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, and witnessed a
brief choreographic display on the history and culture of Paraguay.
He received a floral tribute from a group of children and blessed the
plaque commemorating St. John Paul II's visit to this country from 16
to 18 May 1988.

Following the ceremony the Holy Father
travelled the fifteen kilometres between the airport and the capital
by popemobile. He stopped along the way to greet the inmates at the
“Coreccional del Buen Pastor” women's prison, who had written to
the Pope asking him to visit them during his trip to Paraguay. As he
entered the prison, the choir “Fifty voices of hope” welcomed him
by singing for him.

Upon arrival in Asuncion, the Pope
transferred to the apostolic nunciature, where he will stay during
his days in Paraguay, and from there he travelled by popemobile to
the presidential palace, where he was received by President Horacio
Manuel Cartes Jara, who introduced his family members, after which
they spoke in private.

The President then accompanied the Pope
to the garden of the presidential residence, where he met with
members of the government, the National Congress, the Supreme Court
of Justice and the diplomatic corps. The Pope addressed those
present, recalling Paraguay's suffering throughout history, as well
as the resilience and their determination to build a prosperous
nation. He also emphasised the role of the Catholic Church in the
common effort to construct a just and inclusive society in which all
members live in harmony.

“A particular word of thanks is due
to all those individuals and institutions who worked so hard to
prepare this visit and to make me feel at home. It is not hard to
feel at home in so welcoming a land. Paraguay is known as the heart
of America, not only because of her geographic location, but also
because of the warmth of her hospitality and the friendliness of her
people.

“From the first days of the country’s
independence to recent times, Paraguay has known the terrible
sufferings brought on by war, fratricidal conflict, lack of freedom
and contempt for human rights. How much suffering and death! Yet the
Paraguayan people have also shown an admirable spirit of perseverance
in surmounting adversities and in working to build a prosperous and
peaceful nation. Here, in the garden of this palace which has
witnessed so much of the country’s history – from the time when
it was no more than a riverbank used by the Guarani, until the
present day – I wish to pay tribute to the many ordinary Paraguayan
people, whose names are not written in history books but who have
been, and continue to be, the real protagonists in the life of your
nation. I would also like to acknowledge with profound admiration the
role played by the women of Paraguay in those very dramatic
historical moments, especially during that horrible war which almost
managed to destroy fraternity among our peoples. As mothers, wives
and widows, they shouldered the heaviest burdens; they found a way to
move their families and their country forward, instilling in new
generations the hope of a better tomorrow. May God bless Paraguayan
women, the most glorious of all in the Americas!

“A people which forgets its own past,
its history and its roots, has no future; it is a dull people.
Memory, if it is firmly based on justice and rejects hatred and all
desire for revenge, makes the past a source of inspiration for the
building of a future of serene coexistence. It also makes us realise
the tragedy and pointlessness of war. Let there be an end to wars
between brothers! Let us always build peace! A peace which which
grows stronger day by day, a peace which makes itself felt in
everyday life, a peace to which each person contributes by seeking to
avoid signs of arrogance, hurtful words, contemptuousness, and
instead by working to foster understanding, dialogue and cooperation.

“For some years now, Paraguay has
sought to build a solid and stable democracy. It is proper to
recognise with satisfaction progress made in this direction, thanks
to the efforts of everyone, even amid great difficulties and
uncertainties. I encourage you to continue working to strengthen the
democratic structures and institutions, so that they can respond to
the legitimate aspirations of the nation’s people. The form of
government adopted by your Constitution, a 'representative,
participative and pluralistic democracy' based on the promotion of
and respect for human rights, must banish the temptation to be
satisfied with a purely formal democracy, one which, as Aparecida put
it, is content with being 'founded on fair election procedures'. That
is a purely formal democracy.

“In every sector of society, but
above all in public service, there is a need to reaffirm that
dialogue is the best means of promoting the common good, on the basis
of a culture of encounter, respect and acknowledgement of the
legitimate differences and opinions of others. In the effort to
overcome a spirit of constant conflict, unity is always better than
conflict; convictions born of ideology or partisan interest should
blend advantageously with love of the country and its people. That
love must be the incentive to increased administrative transparency
and unceasing efforts to combat corruption. I know that today there
exists a firm desire to root out corruption.

“Dear friends, in the desire to serve
and promote the common good, the poor and needy have to be given
priority of place. Paraguay has done much to advance along the path
of economic growth. Important steps have been taken in the areas of
education and health care. May all social groups work to ensure that
there will never again be children without access to schooling,
families without homes, workers without dignified employment, small
farmers without land to cultivate, or campesinos forced to leave
their lands for an uncertain future. May there be an end to violence,
corruption and drug trafficking. An economic development which fails
to take into account the weakest and underprivileged is not an
authentic development. Economic progress must be measured by the
integral dignity of persons, especially the most vulnerable and
helpless.

“Mr President, dear friends, in the
name of my brothers, the bishops of Paraguay, I also wish to assure
you of the commitment and cooperation of the Catholic Church in the
common effort to build a just and inclusive society where each person
can live in peace and harmony. All of us, including the Church’s
pastors, are called to be concerned with building a better world. Our
sure faith in God, who willed to become man, to live among us and to
share our lot, urges us to press forward. Christ opens up to us the
path of mercy, which, founded on justice, goes beyond it to inspire
works of charity, so that no one will remain on the fringes of this
great family which is Paraguay, a land you love and wish to serve.

“With great joy that I have come to
this country consecrated to the Blessed Virgin of Caacupe – and
here I would like to remember in a special my Paraguayan brothers and
sisters in Buenos Aires, my former Diocese; they belong to the parish
of the Virgin of the Miracles of Caacupé – I invoke the Lord’s
blessings on each of you, your families and all the beloved people of
Paraguay. May this country be fruitful, as symbolised by the
pasiflora fower on Our Lady’s mantle, and may the national colors
which decorate her image draw all the Paraguayan people to embrace
the Mother of Caacupe. Thank you very much”.

After his discourse, the Pope attended
a musical show with works from the era of the Jesuit Reductions. The
Reductions were pioneering missionary villages in which the Christian
Indios, separated from the Spanish, lived under the protection of
European missionaries. At their height, in around 1731, there were
approximately 150,000 Christian Indios in the Jesuit Reductions, but
the experience came to an end in 1767 with the expulsion of the
Jesuits from all the settlements.

Today, 11 July, the Holy Father will
visit the “Ninos de Acosta Nu” paediatric hospital, and will then
celebrate Mass in the Marian Shrine of Caacupe. Upon his return to
Asuncion he will meet with representatives of civil society; the day
will conclude with Vespers and an address to the clergy in the
Cathedral of Asuncion.

Vatican City, 11 July 2015 (VIS) –
This morning, at 9.30, at the Vatican City State Tribunal, the first
hearing took place in the criminal trial of the ex-nuncio to the
Dominican Republic Jozef Wesolowski, indicted for the crime of
possession of child pornography and for paedophile acts.

At the opening of the trial the
promoter of Justice announced that the defendant was not present in
court as he has been admitted to hospital.

The Court took due note of the
impediment to the presence of the defendant, following the onset of
an unexpected illness necessitating his transfer to a public hospital
where he is currently in the intensive care unit.

In accordance with Article 471 c.p.p.
the Tribunal suspended the trial and postponed it until a later date,
awaiting the termination of the cause that has given rise to the
postponement.